Method of and apparatus for feeding molten glass



y 16, 1929' K. E. PEILER 1,721,487

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING IOLTBN GLASS Filed June 7, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet l INVENTOR KARL E.PE/LE y 6, 1929. K. E. PEILER' 1,721,487

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING IOLTEN GLASS I Filed June 7, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 g fig. 6.

This? INVENTOR KARL E. PE/LER BY 2 I July 16, 1929. K. E. PEILER 1,721,487

METHOD OF AND APPARATUS FOR FEEDING IOL'IEN GLASS Filed June '7, 1926 3 Sheets-Sheet 5 fig. 9;

' 6 INVENTOR KARL E. PE/LEI? Patented July 16, 1929.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

KARL E. PEILER, OF WEST HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIGNOR TO HABTFORJiEI- PIRE COMPANY, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF DELAWARE.

METHOD OF AND APPARATUQ FOR FEEDING HOLTEN GLASS.

Application filed June 7, 1928. Serial No. 114,089.

My invention relates to a method'and apparatus for feeding mold charges of molten glass by gathering from the surface of a body of molten glass contained in a gathering pool or forehearth. It is particularly adapted for use in connection with glass gathering de- 0 n 0 l vices employing a gathering receptacle, transfer cup or mold which is filled by suction from t 1e surface of a pool. I

lVhen a mold charge of molten glass is gathered by a suction gatherer, or similar means, from a pool of glass, the surface of the glass at the athering station is chilled by contact with the relatively cold gathering means and with such shearing means as are employed to sever the mold charge from the body of glass in the pool. The surface of the glass at the gathering station is also chilled by the exposure caused by the opening which is needed for entrance of thegathering means. These chilled portions of glass would ordinarily be gathered up by the gathering means in gathering subsequent charges, causing defects or blemishes in the charge, which would appear as defects in ware made therefrom. The chill would also interfere with subsequent gathering operations and might even prevent gathering. My invention has for its object the rehioval of the chilled surface of glassfrom I the gathering station and the replacing of such chilled glass with hot glass, by causing a circulation or movement of glass, and particularly of the surface glass, past the gathering station, in a gathering pool or forehearth of proper proportion and with proper temperature regulating means. A further object is the reheating of the chilled glass by subjecting it to a suitable environment. Still anotherv objectis to provide a. suitable gathering pool or foi'ehea rth from which mold charges may be gathered. These and other objects will be apparent from the following description.

The accompanying drawing shows several ways in which my invention may be practiced according to the general principle stated above.

Figure l is a plan view of one form of apparatus in which the movement of the glass is caused by a reciprocating paddle placed at one side of the glass channel with its lower end moving in a vertical orbit;

Fig. 2 is a longitudinal vertical sectional view of the apparatus of Fig. 1;

D Fig. 3 is an end elevational view of a porof the apparatus of Figs. 1 and 2;

Fig. 5 is a longitudinal sectional view of a modified form of apparatus in which the movement of the glass is caused by a paddle vibrating to and fro in a line path and movmg in one direction with greater velocity than in the return direction;

Fig. 6 IS a plan view of a portion of the apparatus of Fig. 5;

Figs. and 8 are plan and longitudinal sectional views, respectively, of a. portion of a forehearth provided with a battle member for directing the movement of the glass;

Figs. 9 and-10 are plan and sectional views, respectively, of a modified form of bafiie member, located at a different position in the forehearth as compared with the baflle ofFigs.7and8;

Figs. 11 and 12 are plan and sectional views, respectively, of another form of baflle for directing the flow of molten glass, and

Figs. 13 and 14 are plan and sectional views of still anotheu form of battle device.

The several structures shown in Figs. 1 to 10 are all characterized by the use of a paddle arranged to move back and forth in the glass at one side of a channel that com'municates with a gathering station, the paddle being so operated as to propel a current of glass toward and across the gathering station, and the glass being allowed to flow away from the gathering station along the side of the glass channel opposite to the side at which the paddle operates. The modified devices shown in Figs. 11 to 14 also employ paddles for moving the glass across the gathdirecting the How of glass across the gather-v ing station. 7

Referring to the structure shown in Figs.

. 1 to 3 of the drawing, 15 represents a glass furnace that is provided with a forehearth 16 of proper proportions. A gate-like member 17, with its lower end immersed in the glass, is employed as a partition to seal off the fore-hearth from the fire space in the furnace and to thereby prevent thefurnace draft from interfering with draft conditions in and the stack opening may the forehearthQ Burners 20 are provided for projecting flame into and heating the fore be provided as desired. A stack 18 is for spent gases be regulated by a damper 19 to produce the desired draft conditions in the forehearth 16.

The forward end of the forehearth 16 is pro vided with openings for the entry o'fflames from the burners 20, and with an opening 21 through which a suction gatherer 22 may be inserted to gather glass at the point 26. This gatherer is provided with shearing means 23 to sever the gathered mass from the glass in the forehearth. The suction cup and the shear are indicated somewhat diagrammatically, since they may be manipulated inany wellknown manner, the cup being first projected horizontally into the forehearthoverthe gathering point 26, and then lowered into contact with the glass, after which suction is applied to the cavity of the gatherer to fill it with glass. The gatherer may then be raised and the shearing means operated to sever the glass, after which the gatherer may be withdrawn from the forehearth to a discharging position where it may discharge its gather or charge of glass into a forming mold.

A paddle 24, which may suitably be rectangular in cross section at its lower end, is disposed at one side of the center line of the forehearth 16 and projects into the glass through an elongated opening in the roof of the forehearth. This paddle is mounted for vertical orbital movement sothat its lower end will travel in the directions indicated by the arrows 25, to effect circulation of the glass past the point 26 at which the gathers of glass are removed. A plate 27 is secured to the paddle 24 so as to partially close-the opening and prevent escape of heated gases from the forehearth. The paddle may be cooled by means of a core 28 through which water or other cooling fluid is circulated. Thecore also serves to'reinforce the paddle 24, which. is preferably of refractory material such as clay, and is supported by a chuck or holding "clamp 29 that is mounted on an arm 30. Thearm30 is pivotally connected to, and vertically reciprocated by, a horizontally-disposed lever 31 which is mounted on ashaft 32. l a

The lever 31 carries an anti-friction roller 35 that engages the edge of a cam disc 36. The cam disc 36 is secured to a shaft 37 that is driven through a gear wheel 38, from any suitable source of power. The weight of the paddle 24, the arms 30 and 31, and the link 45, maintains the roller 35 in contact with the cam disc so that as the disc rotates, the paddle will be reciprocated in 'a vertical direction.

For the purpose of reciprocating thepaddle horizontally, a second cam tlisc 39 is'secured to the sh ft 37 and engages a roller 40 that is journaled in an arm 41 which is formed integrally with a sleeve 42 that is mounted upon the shaft 32. The sleeve 42 tends to move the crank 43 in a clockwise.

direction and holds the roller in contact with the edge of the disc 39.

A link 45 is pivotally connected at one of its ends to the arm 30 and at its other end has bifurcated portions 46 and 47, as indicated more clearly in Fig. 3. A bolt 48 extendsthrough the bifurcations of the link 45 and through an arcuate slot 41" in the arm 41, and carries a nut 49 that serves to clamp the link 45 adjustably on the arm 41, so as to permit regulation of the distance of horizontal travel of the link 45, and consequently of the paddle 24, when the arm 41' is oscillated by the cam disc 39. The cam 39 may be so formed that the rearward movement of the paddle 24 will be less rapid than its forward movement. l

The two cams 36 and 39 are so shaped as to give the lower end of the paddle 24 the desired .orbital movement, wherein the paddle moves forward in a lower position, r1ses, moves rearwardly in a higher position and then falls again to the lower position, repeating regularly. This movement of the paddle tends to propel theglass toward the opening 21 of the forehearth and effects displacement of the chilled glass across the gathering station at the front end of the forehearth in the direction indicated by the arrows 48, removing the chilled surface glass left by the gathering operation and replacing it with hot glass. It will be seenthat the glass flows rearwardly away from the gathering station along the side of the forehearth channel opposite to the paddle 24. a I The amount of circulating movement imparted to the glass may be varied by varying the speed at which the cams are revolved, by varying the paddle stroke, or by varying the extent to which'the paddle projects into the glass. Such adjustments of a paddle for propelling glass are shown in my application for Letters Patent filed March 28, 1917, Serial No. 157,913. v

Referring now to Figs. 4 to 6. I show a forehcarth 16 of the same general structure as tho 'l'orclical'th 16 of Fig. 2, andprovii'lbd with a paddle 2-1, disposed at one s'ide'of the forchcarih. The paddle 24, instead of being raised and lowerdd at each swing,- is arranged to ,oscillate back and forth on a fixed pivot with a rapid forward stroke and a slower rearward stroke. I have found that such a motion of the paddle produces a motion of the glass in thiglireetion of the rapidstroke, so that the glass is moved past the gathering point'in the direction'shown by the arrows 48 on Fig. 4.

The paddle 24 my be reinforced and water cooled through the medium of metallic core 28 and is supported upon a lever 30 which is pivotally supported at .55 upon a fixed bracket 56. A cam roller 57 is mounted upon the arm 30 and seats within a cam slot 58 of a cam disc 59.. The cam disc 59 is mounted modifications may be used with either form of paddle movement described above, or with an other form of flow-creating means.

n Figs. 7 and 8, a bafiie or deflecting member 50 is built into the glass-containing portion of the forehearth 16. This bafile assists in producing a movement of the glass of greater intensity and may be particularly employed to direct the motion of the glass,

caused by the paddle, more efficiently past the gathering station 26. If desired, the baffl'e member 50 may be provided with an extended portion whose upper extremity is indicated by the reference numeral 51 (Fig. 8) so that the glass at 26 will be of shallow depth and a fiow of greater velocity past the gathering point will therefore be produced, thereby more effectively removing the chilled lass. 7

b Another form of bafile member 52 is shown in Figs. 9 and 10. This member has a par-.

tition-like portion 53 over which the glass is forced by forward movement of the paddle 24, and serves as a dam to prevent back flow of the glass upon retraetive movement of the paddle 24, thereby rendering the motion of the paddle more eflicient.

Figs. 11 to 14 show two forms of bafiles which, like the baffles shown in the precedin figures, are so shaped as to improve the e fect on the glass produced by the paddle, and which, in addition, permit the placing of the paddle at the transverse center of the forehearth. This provides a supply of more uniform glass which has a freer flow to the paddle down the center of the forehearth. These baffle shapes may be employed at one side of the forehearth, if desired, but it is preferred to employ them at the transverse center of the forehearth.

Figs. 11 and 12 show one form of bafll'e member 61 having upstanding wing portions 62 that are arranged to confine the glass being pushed forward by the paddle 24 and to prevent its side flow. In the back position of the paddle, the glass is free to flow 'of the In Figs. 13 and 14 I have shown still anfrom the gathering 1 in front of it, but as soon as the paddle moves forward the opening between the paddle and the wings 62 becomes narrower, thus tending to confine the glass and force it forward. The

glass is thus caused to follow the aths indicated by the arrows on Fig. 11. T e member 61 is inclined or bevelled at its rear edge 63,

thus offering less resistance to advancement glass by the paddle.

other form of bafiie structure that may be employed in connection with a paddle 24 which may be constructed and operated like the paddle 24 or like the paddle 24. In this form of device, the paddle ma be caused to oscillate along the longitudlnal center line of the forehearth, and the bafile is provided with a wing or wall 64 that directs the glass forwardly, to one side of the forehearth, and

causes the glass to travel across the gathering space to the other side of the forehearth and eventually to the rear of the bafile. The bafflle is also provided with a guiding wall. 65 and with a submerged-dam 66 which may function, in the same manner as the lip 53 of Fig. 10, to prevent back-flow of the glass when the paddle is retracted. .If desired, a

similar dam may be added to the bafile member 61 of Figs. 11 and 12. Also, the raised bottom of the baflie member 61 (Fig. 12) may be employed with the bafile of Figs 13 and 14, if desired.

Implements moving back and forth in molten glass have been used for propelling waves or surges of glass along a channel for the production of mold charges; but so far as I am aware, such implements have not heretofore been used for causing molten glass to flow toward a gathering station along one side of a channel and to flow away from the gathering station along the opposite side of the channel, so as to establish flow of glass across the gathering station.

In the several constructions described above, the movement of the glass is shown as being toward the gathering station from tle paddle. If desired, however, either form 0 wit iout the bafiles shown, so as to move the glass from the gathering station toward the paddle. That is, the action of the paddle may e reversed so that the glass will be drawn point by the paddle and will move in a rection opposlte to that shown by the arrows on the drawing. Other variations may be made within the scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention. 1

1. The method of effecting circulation of molten glass, which comprises imparting movement thereto by a member'movable in a verticall disposed orbital path located entirely in t 1e glass, and directing the flow of glass in a horizontally curved path past a gathering station.

addle may be operated, either withor 2. The method of efliecting circulation of molten glass, which comprises imparting movement thereto by a member movable in a verticall disposed orbital path located entirely in t i'e glass, and directing the flow of glass past a gathering station in oppositely curved and horizontally disposed paths.

3. The method of, feeding molten glass, which comprises withdrawing charges of glass from the forward portion of a pool, and imparting forward movement to the glass by a member that is reciprocable longitudinally vancing movement thereto by a reciprocable member, the said member being moved more rapidly in one direction than in the other direction, retarding movement of the glass in the last named direction, and directing the glass in a horizontally curved path when the said member is moving in the first named direction.

. 6. The method of effecting circulation in a pool of molten glass, which comprises imparting forward movement to the glass by moving an impeller between two laterally spaced partitions that are disposed between the longitudinally extending side portions of the pool.

7. The method of effecting circulation in a pool of molten glass, which comprises imparting forward movement to the glass by moving an impeller between two laterally spaced partitions that are disposed between the longitudinally extending'side portions of the pool, the extremities of ,said partitions being spaced apart farther at one end than at the other end.

8. The method of efi'ecting circulation of molten glass, which comprises imparting movement thereto by moving an impeller between two walls that partially confine a por- 'tion of the glass and are spaced apart a greater distance adjacent to one portion of the line of travel of the impeller than atanother portion of said line.

9. The method of effecting circulation of molten glass, which comprises imparting movement thereto by advancing an impeller between two walls that partially confine a portion of the glass and are spaced apart a' greater distance at their rear ends than at their forward ends.

10. The method of effecting circulation of molten glass, which comprises moving part of the glass past a gathering station at the surface of the glass by imparting impulses thereto in one direction by a reciprocable member dipping continuously in the lass, and retarding back flow of the glass when the member is being retracted.

11. The combination with a receptacle for molten glass, of means forcirculating the glass in said receptacle, comprising a paddle, means for moving said paddle in a vertically disposed orbital path located entirely in the glass, and means for directing the flow of glass in a curved path, past a gathering station. 8

12. The combination with a receptacle for molten glass, -of means for circulating the glass in said receptacle, comprising a paddle,

disposed orbital path located entirely in the glass to create a flow of glass, and means for directing the flow of glass in a horizontally disposed curved path, past a gathering station. i 13. Apparatus for circulatin molten glass, comprising a paddle mounted for engagement with said glass, and means for etiecting reciprocation of said paddle at a higher rate of speed in one direction than in the opposite direction.

14. Apparatus for effecting circulation of molten lass, comprising a paddle member mounted for oscillatory movement while dippin continuously in a pool of molten glass, for moving glass-of the pool past a gathering station at the surface of said pool when the paddle is moved in one direction, and means for retarding back flow of glass when the paddle is moved in the opposite direction.

15. Apparatus for handling molten glass, comprising a container defining a channel communicating with a gathering station, an

impeller projecting into the glass at one side of said channel, and means for moving said implement back and forth while dipping continuously in the glass to cause the glass to flow toward said gathering station and to flow away from said gathering station along the side of said channel opposite to said im-.

plement.

16. The combination with a forehearth or tank for molten glass, provided with a cover and having an openin in one wall-thereof for the insertion of a iass gathering implement, said cover extending above the gather ing station, of an oscillatory'impeller extending through an opening in said cover, means for oscillating said impeller to effect movement of the glass, and means for restricting loss of heat through said opening in the cover without interfering with the oscillatory movement of said impeller.'

17. Glass working apparatus comprising a covered container for a pool of molten glass, said container having an opening in a wall thereof above the level of the glass therein,

' means for moving said paddle in a vertically a glass working implement extending loosely through said opening into the vlass, and a cover plate carried byesaid worliing implement outside of the container and adjacent to said opening.

18. Glass working apparatus comprising a covered container for a pool of molten glass, said container having an o ening in a wall thereof above the level 0 the glass therein, a. glass working implement extending loosely through said opening into the glass, a cover plate carried by said working" implement outside of the container and adjacent to said opening, said cover plate having an area greater than that of the o ning. 

